Social integration

He concluded that a people's beliefs, values, and norms make up a collective consciousness, a shared way of understanding each other and the world.

[4] While some scholars offered an assimilation theory, arguing that immigrants would be assimilated into the host society economically, socially and culturally over successive generations,[1] others developed a multiculturalism theory, anticipating that immigrants could maintain their ethnic identities through the integration process to shape the host society with a diversified cultural heritage.

"[12] In the United States, for instance, the fluency of English is a widely used indicator and can be easily found in a report on immigration.

While policy measures can play a role, research shows that integration is largely an autonomous process that unfolds over generations.

For instance, studies in the United States reveal that children of Latinos and Asians now learn English more quickly than European immigrants did in the 20th century.

While performance gaps persist between ethnic groups, these are generally attributed to socioeconomic factors, such as social class, rather than cultural differences.

Research shows that migrants must send an average of 40% more job applications to receive an interview invitation compared to natives.

In Europe, children of former guest workers from Turkey and Morocco in Germany, France, and the Netherlands show similar progress.

[13] In terms of economic integration, laissez-faire approaches appear to be remarkably effective, provided governments combat racism and remove barriers so migrants can participate in work and entrepreneurship.

This partly explains why immigrants perform so well in 'Anglo-Saxon' countries like the U.S. and the U.K., where labor markets are more open and legislation provides more opportunities for entrepreneurship.

Nothing appears more detrimental to the well-being and economic contribution of migrants and refugees than keeping them in legal uncertainty for years due to administrative backlogs and appeals procedures.

This includes an increase in the number of interracial marriages and the rapid adoption of norms regarding family size and fertility rates from the host country.

[14][15] From a demographic and cultural standpoint, recent longitudinal studies suggest that social isolation or integration has shown to increase in older Spanish individuals, especially those whom may be suffering from neurocognitive disorders such as dementia and overall cognitive decline.

Misunderstandings can be caused; or actions, expressions, attitudes or statements of values or behaviors can be unintentionally misunderstood or misinterpreted.

These obstacles in the way of understanding with people from a different cultural background have major potential to have negative effects that need to be overcome.

In a society where many people with a migration background live, mutual understanding is crucial to promote a future of appreciation, robustness and diversity from all sides.